Part 13 — The Past and the Future

Losing all his consciousness, Zap awakened in his mind, in nothing but darkness. Slowly, two figures came into view. The one on the left had a soft, deep voice. "Zap. You are looking at yourself from a later time. All is going well, though not everything has gone the way you wished it to be. Will you let it be like that?" The one on the right, a smaller figure, spoke next. "Remember me? I'm you as a kid! Please, remember all the good things, no matter how little there are...I'm here to help you get past the tragedies you experienced...it's all fine now though, right?" The future version of Zap spoke again. "You remember me saying that not all went as planned. Do not look this over. Just becase all is well doesn't mean you're happy, does it now?"

"He's saying that one of the things that didn't go as planned may be the most important thing to you," the younger Zap said. "He's warning you to take all measures to make sure that that doesn't happen. Keep close to you what you love most. Don't let the past repeat itself!"

The two figures disappeared, and images began to fill his vision. He heard his younger self speaking, but in an older voice, perhaps a few years older than the young Zap he previously met.

The first image was a tree in the corner, giving shade to a single bench. No-one would sit here unless they didn't fit in. Actually, scratch that. I would sit here unless I had any reason to sit with other kids.

The next image was someone twice as large as the young Zap. Below that kid was the young Zap, who was clutching his stomach. I always remember Ed's punch when I get hurt in the stomach. It hurt like no other, and I always believed that it hurt more than a gun. Maybe it was true.

Following that image was a row of lockers. Middle school was better, in a way. It was still painful, but it was survivable. Everybody ignored me, which was way better than getting hit in the stomach by someone twice as strong as you. Ed didn't even go to this school, which was the happiest feeling in my life.

The fourth image was a flag on top of a school roof. High school, the worst fucking years of my life. It was a much different voice from the Zap from middle school, with a change larger than the one from elementary school to middle school, and Zap knew exactly why. Ed. Now three times as large as me. Every single week. One hit in the stomach. Hours of pain I had to endure. Zap managed to pause the voice and let himself think his own thoughts.

I remember why I changed. I told myself that I wouldn't let it happen anymore. I told myself that I would stop Ed and anyone else who interferes with me. It was either be my ally or ignore me.

He let the voice continue. Though, as junior year rolled around, Ed stopped bothering me. I made sure of it. Zap absentmindedly rubbed his left fist while hearing this. I was finally free from Ed. I was able to graduate and get out of there.

Zap sighed as the fifth imaged came into view. College. Where I am now. The voice, which was exactly like Zap's now, stopped.

Zap took this as a sign to narrate himself. He looked at the image, which showed him and Xin yelling at each other. The first time they ever did. I didn't even know her until sophmore year. Junior year was okay, nothing happened, which was also a good thing. He looked at the picture again. He saw things he remembered, like the group of exactly 7 girls behind Xin, and the group of 6 boys behind Zap. Around them, a distance farther than the 13 other people, was a large group of people, worried about the outcome. Apparently, Xin had a reputation of not working well with guys, and Zap had a reputation of being the least social person in college. The one guy who didn't talk to anyone and did nothing. What no-one had expected was what the sixth image showed, which was Zap and Xin both holding a key and staring at the apartment which had now been theirs. With this, everything disappeared.